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ACCT

ACCT 210:Financial Accounting

Financial accounting is the measurement of economic activity for decision-making. Financial statements are a key product of this measurement process and an important component of firms' financial reporting activities. The objective of this course is not to train you to become an accountant but rather to help you develop into an informed user of financial statement information. While financial statement users face a wide variety of decisions, they are often interested in understanding the implications of financial statement information for the future cash flows and earnings potential of a firm. We will focus on understanding the mapping between underlying economic events and financial statements, and on understanding how this mapping affects inferences about future profitability and liquidity. The following learning objectives will be emphasized: (1) familiarity with the transactions businesses engage in, (2) fluency in accounting terminology, (3) understanding the structure that maps transactions into accounting numbers, (4) understanding the rationale for various accounting methods, and (5) awareness of the judgment involved and the discretion allowed in choosing accounting methods, making estimates, and disclosing information in financial statements.

ACCT 212:Managerial Accounting: Base

This course provides an introduction to the concepts and tools of managerial accounting. The first part of the course covers alternative costing methods and illustrates how the resulting cost information can be used to analyze the profitability of individual products and customers. The second part of the course will examine the role of internal accounting systems in evaluating the performance of individual business segments and divisions of the firm. Included in this part are topics related to the choice of internal pricing methods for transferring goods and services across divisions of the firm and the use of financial metrics for assessing the profitability of these divisions.

ACCT 213:Financial Accounting - Accelerated

This course develops students' ability to read, understand, and use corporate financial statements. The course is oriented toward the user of financial accounting data (rather than the preparer) and emphasizes the reconstruction and interpretation of economic events from published accounting reports. The course is geared toward students with some familiarity in dealing with financial statement information and allows for deeper coverage and discussion in class.

ACCT 219:MSx: Accounting

A characteristic of business is the extensive use of accounting data. The financial accounting course has the general objective of developing students' understanding of the nature, scope, and limitations of accounting information. To achieve this objective the course attempts to: (1) develop students' understanding of the conceptual accounting framework, including the objectives of financial reporting, and (2) develop students' ability to understand and critically evaluate the financial disclosures made by corporations. An issue of particular interest will be the managerial incentive aspects of accounting information and disclosures.

ACCT 311:Global Financial Reporting

This course is designed to enhance students' understanding of current financial reporting issues through a detailed analysis and comparison of U.S. and International Financial Reporting Standards. The course will cover the development of accounting standards, implementation of these standards, and how to interpret output from these standards. The course highlights intermediate and advanced financial reporting topics including fair value accounting, asset securitization, consolidation including special purpose entities, foreign currency translation, derivatives and hedging, leases, revenue recognition, pensions, and equity compensation. The course also focuses on evaluating emerging financial reporting issues such as proposed financial reporting standards put forth by U.S. or international standard setting bodies. This course should help students better understand the environment governing global financial reporting and how firms develop financial statement information within this environment.

ACCT 313:Accounting-Based Valuation

This course is designed to develop students' ability to interpret and use financial accounting information in an equity valuation context. The perspective taken is that of an outsider relying on publicly available financial information for investment purposes. The course relies heavily upon financial statement analysis tools and the residual income framework for equity valuation. Through lectures, in-depth case studies, and real-time exercises, the first half of the course covers traditional financial statement analysis-based tools for critically analyzing and assessing a firm's current financial performance and economic condition, including ratio analysis, accounting quality analysis and financial distress / bankruptcy prediction models. The second half of the course introduces the accounting-based valuation framework and develops the link between financial statement analysis, forecasting and equity valuation. The capstone to the course is the completion of a comprehensive, real-time
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This course is designed to develop students' ability to interpret and use financial accounting information in an equity valuation context. The perspective taken is that of an outsider relying on publicly available financial information for investment purposes. The course relies heavily upon financial statement analysis tools and the residual income framework for equity valuation. Through lectures, in-depth case studies, and real-time exercises, the first half of the course covers traditional financial statement analysis-based tools for critically analyzing and assessing a firm's current financial performance and economic condition, including ratio analysis, accounting quality analysis and financial distress / bankruptcy prediction models. The second half of the course introduces the accounting-based valuation framework and develops the link between financial statement analysis, forecasting and equity valuation. The capstone to the course is the completion of a comprehensive, real-time valuation of a publicly traded firm (or registered IPO candidate). The course is structured for students to gain a deeper understanding of the economic pressures behind the valuation creation and valuation process, and will be useful to those students who anticipate making investment or credit decisions at least partially based on historical and prospective financial statement information.

The course will examine the academic and professional controversies surrounding corporate governance and executive compensation. A basic framework will be developed to integrate the many important dimensions of corporate governance in the U.S. and international settings. The institutional features of corporate governance and executive compensation will be documented using the professional business and legal literatures. In addition, the scientific research in accounting, economics, finance, and organizational behavior will be used to provide insights into the measurement and consequences of observed corporate governance and executive compensation choices. After successfully finishing the course, a student should be able to (i) understand the debates about appropriate choices for corporate governance and executive compensation and (ii) critically evaluate the implications of academic and professional research studies on these controversial issues.

ACCT 332:Mergers and Acquisitions

This course provides a comprehensive overview of strategic, economic, accounting and financial issues related to mergers and acquisitions. Specifically, we review the market for corporate control, discuss strategic and governance issues related to firms' decision to acquire or be acquired, and examine the M&A regulatory environment. We analyze various pricing and deal structure considerations, identify strategies that underlay a successful negotiation, and review the financial reporting and income tax implications of M&A deals.nnIn covering these and other related issues, we will discuss both the theory and practice of mergers and acquisitions. To provide some specific context we will analyze several M&A deals (e.g., Google/Motorola, HP/Compaq, UpJohn/Pharmacia, AOL/Time Warner, Oracle/PeopleSoft, and many more). In discussing these cases, we will examine the situation faced by the company, the issues surrounding the transaction, including the financial reporting implications, and focu
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This course provides a comprehensive overview of strategic, economic, accounting and financial issues related to mergers and acquisitions. Specifically, we review the market for corporate control, discuss strategic and governance issues related to firms' decision to acquire or be acquired, and examine the M&A regulatory environment. We analyze various pricing and deal structure considerations, identify strategies that underlay a successful negotiation, and review the financial reporting and income tax implications of M&A deals.nnIn covering these and other related issues, we will discuss both the theory and practice of mergers and acquisitions. To provide some specific context we will analyze several M&A deals (e.g., Google/Motorola, HP/Compaq, UpJohn/Pharmacia, AOL/Time Warner, Oracle/PeopleSoft, and many more). In discussing these cases, we will examine the situation faced by the company, the issues surrounding the transaction, including the financial reporting implications, and focus on the managerial incentives and the judgment applied. We will also review some of the related literature in accounting, economic, and finance, to gain broader perspectives and insights into the financial issues associated with M&A transactions. Class time comprises mini lectures that introduce some of the more technical concepts, case discussions, and guest speakers who will offer additional perspectives on the subject matters.nnThe course is co-taught by Ron Kasznik (GSB) and Safra Catz (Oracle Corporation). Ms. Catz is the CEO of Oracle Corporation and a member of its Board of Directors. She has led Oracle through more than 100 acquisitions in recent years (including PeopleSoft, Siebel, BEA, Sun Microsystems, and many more). Prior to joining Oracle in 1999, Ms. Catz was Managing Director at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, a global investment bank (now part of CSFB). Ms. Catz also serves on the board of directors for HSBC Holdings plc.

ACCT 333:Taxes and Business Strategy

Traditional business courses analyze an array of factors affecting business decisions but provide little systematic consideration of the role of taxes. By contrast, tax accounting courses traditionally concentrate on technical legal and administrative issues while ignoring the environment in which taxes enter an individual's or firm's decision. This case-based course intends to bridge this gap by providing a framework for recognizing how taxes affect strategic personal and business decisions and gaining experience analyzing a wide range of tax-related issues. The key themes of the framework - all parties, all taxes and all costs - are applied to decision contexts such as investments, retirement planning, cash and equity compensation, organizational form, tax planning for multiple jurisdictions, and M&A. The goal of this course is to provide an approach to thinking about taxes that will be valuable across jurisdictions even as laws change.

ACCT 340:Alphanomics: Informational Arbitrage in Equity Markets

This is an advanced elective course on the economics of active investing in public equity markets. We will cover a set of foundational skills needed to select, and manage, a portfolio of public stocks. nnSpecifically, the course material is designed to improve student skills in: (1) assessing the relative attractiveness of individual companies, (2) building stock screens to filter and rank firms based on user-specified parameters, (3) buying and shorting individual equity positions, and (4) monitoring and managing portfolio risk. nnThis is a hands-on course with an emphasis on experiential learning. Students will make extensive use of the analytical tools. Some of the classes will be held in the "Real-time Analytics and Investment Lab" (R.A.I.L.) facility in the Bass Center. There is no final exam. However, there will be a number of individual cases and a final group project. 25% of the grade will be based on class participation, and 75% will be based on cases and projects. nnBecause i
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This is an advanced elective course on the economics of active investing in public equity markets. We will cover a set of foundational skills needed to select, and manage, a portfolio of public stocks. nnSpecifically, the course material is designed to improve student skills in: (1) assessing the relative attractiveness of individual companies, (2) building stock screens to filter and rank firms based on user-specified parameters, (3) buying and shorting individual equity positions, and (4) monitoring and managing portfolio risk. nnThis is a hands-on course with an emphasis on experiential learning. Students will make extensive use of the analytical tools. Some of the classes will be held in the "Real-time Analytics and Investment Lab" (R.A.I.L.) facility in the Bass Center. There is no final exam. However, there will be a number of individual cases and a final group project. 25% of the grade will be based on class participation, and 75% will be based on cases and projects. nnBecause it is an advanced elective, students taking this class are expected to be well versed in core economic, accounting, and finance skills. Material covered in a second Financial Modeling course, as well as in Accounting 312 (Evaluating Financial Statement Information) and Accounting 313 (Accounting-based Valuation) will come in handy. However, none of these courses are required.